Robotic arm with five-bar spherical linkage

ABSTRACT

A robotic arm for a minimally invasive surgical system includes a parallel spherical five-bar linkage adapted to spherically rotationally move a robotic surgical tool coupled to the parallel five-bar spherical linkage about a remote center of spherical rotation. The five-bar spherical linkage is posed in only a range of compact poses. A compact pose is one in which a first pair of links and a second pair of links in the parallel five-bar spherical linkage have only a same handedness.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/623,281,filed Jan. 15, 2007, which claims the benefit pursuant to 35 U.S.C.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/786,491, filed Mar. 28,2006, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/762,233, filed Jan. 25,2006, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The embodiments of the invention relate generally to robotic surgicalsystems. More particularly, the embodiments of the invention relate tolinkage in robotic arms.

2. Background

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) provides surgical techniques foroperating on a patient through small incisions using a camera andelongate surgical instruments introduced to an internal surgical site,often through trocar sleeves or cannulas. The surgical site oftencomprises a body cavity, such as the patient's abdomen. The body cavitymay optionally be distended using a clear fluid such as an insufflationgas. In traditional minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon manipulatesthe tissues using end effectors of the elongate surgical instruments byactuating the instrument's handles while viewing the surgical site on avideo monitor.

A common form of minimally invasive surgery is endoscopy. Laparoscopy isa type of endoscopy for performing minimally invasive inspection andsurgery inside the abdominal cavity. In standard laparoscopic surgery, apatient's abdomen is insufflated with gas, and cannula sleeves arepassed through small (generally ½ inch or less) incisions to provideentry ports for laparoscopic surgical instruments. The laparoscopicsurgical instruments generally include a laparoscope (for viewing thesurgical field) and working tools. The working tools are similar tothose used in conventional (open) surgery, except that the working endor end effector of each tool is separated from its handle by a toolshaft. As used herein, the term “end effector” means the actual workingpart of the surgical instrument and can include clamps, graspers,scissors, staplers, image capture lenses, and needle holders, forexample. To perform surgical procedures, the surgeon passes theseworking tools or instruments through the cannula sleeves to an internalsurgical site and manipulates them from outside the abdomen. The surgeonmonitors the procedure by means of a monitor that displays an image ofthe surgical site taken from the laparoscope. Similar endoscopictechniques are employed in other types of surgeries such as arthroscopy,retroperitoneoscopy, pelviscopy, nephroscopy, cystoscopy, cisternoscopy,sinoscopy, hysteroscopy, urethroscopy, and the like.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The embodiments of the invention are summarized by the claims thatfollow below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may best be understood by referring to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings that are used to illustrateembodiments of the invention by way of example and not limitation. Inthe drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate similarelements:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a surgical suite in which embodiments of theinvention are used.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the operating suite of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view along line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG.4.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG.4.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a parallel five-bar linkage.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a parallel spherical five-bar linkage.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of another parallel spherical five-barlinkage.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of another parallel spherical five-barlinkage and a controller.

FIG. 11 is a end view of a parallel spherical five-bar linkage.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the parallel spherical five-bar linkageof FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is another schematic view of the parallel spherical five-barlinkage of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of another parallel spherical five-barlinkage that includes an insertion axis.

FIG. 15 is a pictorial view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a pictorial view of a motor assembly.

FIG. 17 is a pictorial view of a detail of the embodiment of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a pictorial view of an optical encoder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description describes the invention as it may be used in alaparoscopic surgery. It is to be understood that this is merely oneexample of the types of surgeries in which the invention may be used.The invention is not limited to laparoscopy nor to the particularstructural configurations shown which are merely examples to aid in theunderstanding of the invention. Traditional minimally invasive surgeryrequires a high degree of surgical skill because the surgeon's handmovements are controlling a surgical tool at a substantial distance fromthe surgeon's hands, often requiring unnatural and non-intuitive handmotions. In robotically assisted surgery, a surgeon may operate a mastercontroller to control the motion of surgical instruments at the surgicalsite. Servo mechanisms may move and articulate the surgical instrumentbased on the surgeon's manipulation of the hand input devices. Therobotic assistance may allow the surgeon to control the motion ofsurgical instruments more easily and with greater precision.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan view of a surgical suite in which theinvention may be used. A patient 110 is shown on an operating table 112undergoing robotically assisted laparoscopic surgery. A surgeon 120 mayuse a master controller 122 to view a video image of the internalsurgical site and control one or more surgical instruments and alaparoscopic camera by means of robotic servo mechanisms. The mastercontroller 122 will typically include one or more hand input devices(such as joysticks, exoskeletal gloves, or the like) which are coupledby a servo mechanism to a surgical instrument.

One or more robotic arms 100, 102 that embody the invention may be usedto support and move surgical instruments 104 at the surgical site duringrobotically assisted surgery. It is desirable to support the surgicalinstrument such that the tool shaft 118 of the instrument pivots about acenter of spherical rotation positioned in space along the length of thetool shaft. An additional robotic arm 116 may support and move thelaparoscopic camera. The robotic arm 116 for supporting the camera is ofa different form than the robotic arms 100, 102 for supporting thesurgical instruments 104.

Each robotic arm 100, 102, 116 may be supported by an articulated set-uparm 130, 132, 134. The set-up arms may be attached to the operatingtable 112. Each set-up arm may include a number of segments coupled byjoints that provide one or more degrees of freedom that allow therobotic arm to be positioned within a defined range of motion. One ormore locking mechanisms may be provided to fix the segments and jointsof the set-up arm when the robotic arm is in the desired position. Theset-up arms may allow the robotic arms 100,102 to be fixed at anarbitrary position with respect to the operating table and the patientthereon. Joint angle sensors may be provided on the set-up arm to allowthe pose of the set-up arm and the resulting position of the supportedrobotic arm to be determined.

Each robotic arm 100, 102 may be fixed at a position where the center ofspherical rotation is substantially at the access point 114 to theinternal surgical site (for example, with the incision that providesentry for the trocar or cannula 106 at the abdominal wall duringlaparoscopic surgery). An end effector of the surgical instrument 104supported by the robotic arm 100 can be positioned safely by moving theproximal end of the tool shaft 118 with the robotic arm 100 withoutimposing dangerous forces against the abdominal wall.

Each robotic arm 100, 102 will support one surgical instrument which maybe detachable from the robotic arm. A variety of surgical instruments108 may replace the surgical instrument 104 on the robotic arm 100during the course of a single surgery. Each robotic arm 100 may supporta cannula 106 that passes through an incision 114 into the body of thepatient 110. The tool shaft 118 of the surgical instrument 104 passesthrough the cannula 106 to the internal surgical site.

The robotic arm 100 may support the surgical instrument 104 such thatthe cannula 106 and the tool shaft 118 of the instrument pivot about acenter of spherical rotation positioned in space along the length of thecannula 106. The center of spherical rotation may also be called theremote center of spherical rotation because it is the spherical centerof rotational motion for the robotic arm while being spaced apart fromthe structure of the robotic arm. Motion about the center of sphericalrotation may be described as spherical motion because a point at aradial distance from the center of spherical rotation will move on aspherical surface having the radial distance as its radius. The cannula106 defines an insertion axis that passes through an access point, suchas an incision 114 in the abdominal wall of the patient 110, to theinternal surgical site. The tool shaft 118 extends along the insertionaxis.

Each robotic arm 100, 102, 116 may include one or more servo motors tomove the arm to a desired position. Each robotic arm may include one ormore additional servo motors to move the surgical instrument 104 and/oran end effector on the surgical instrument. One or more control cables124 may provide signals between the computer 123 in the mastercontroller 122 and the servo motors of the robotic arms 100, 102, 116.The master controller 122 may include a computer 123 to provide signalsthat control the servo mechanisms of the robotic arms and the surgicalinstruments based on the surgeon's input and received feedback from theservo mechanisms.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 including thepatient 110 and the robotic arms 100, 102, 116. FIG. 3 shows an end viewof the robotic arms 100, 102 looking from the patient's head toward thefeet. A schematic cross-section of the patient 110 is shown in the areawhere the cannula 106 is inserted. The tool shaft 118 of the surgicalinstrument 104 may be seen emerging from the end of the cannula 106internal to the patient 110. An end effector 300 at the internal end ofthe tool shaft 118 may provide any of a variety of surgical tools whichmay be actuated by servo mechanisms 200 (shown in FIG. 2) which may besupported by the robotic arm 100.

A specific position assumed by a robotic arm may be referred to as apose. Placing a robotic arm in a specific position may be referred to asposing the robotic arm. FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are orthogonal views of therobotic arm 100 used on the patient's right hand side in the same poseas shown in FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 4 is a plan view. FIG. 5 is a side view.FIG. 6 is an end view.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, the robotic arm 100, 102 includes aspherical linkage to support the surgical instrument 104, as will bediscussed in greater detail below. The spherical linkage constrains themotion of the insertion axis to rotation about a remote center ofspherical rotation 206 which may be located along the length of thecannula 106. By locating the remote center of spherical rotation 206 ator near the incision 114, the insertion axis may be moved withoutsignificant motion at the incision.

The end effector 300 is passed through the cannula 106 to the internalsurgical site along the insertion axis. The end effector 300 issupported by the tool shaft 118 and coupled to servo mechanisms 200through the tool shaft. The servo mechanisms 200 may manipulate the endeffector 300 and may allow a variety of motions which may includerotation about the insertion axis and translation along the insertionaxis. Translation of the end effector 300 may be accomplished bytranslation of the surgical instrument 104 with the tool shaft 118 andattached end effector.

The end effector 300 may be moved in two additional dimensions by movingthe tool shaft 118 about its remote center of spherical rotation 206.The robotic arm 100 will control these two dimensions of motion bymoving the tool shaft 118 to change its angular position in space. Themotion of the tool shaft 118 may be described in terms of the positionof the insertion axis in a spherical coordinate system. A point in spacemay be specified in terms of two angles and a distance from a center ofa spherical coordinate system. It will be appreciated that only the twoangles are necessary to specify an insertion axis that passes throughthe center of the spherical coordinate system.

The robotic arm 100 of the present invention includes a parallelspherical five-bar linkage to move and support the surgical instrument104 such that the tool shaft 118 of the instrument pivots about a remotecenter of spherical rotation 206 positioned in space along the insertionaxis and generally along the length of the cannula 106.

FIG. 7 shows a simplified, 2-dimensional schematic diagram of a parallelfive-bar linkage 700. This example illustrates the linkage operating inessentially a flat plane. The inventive linkage operates similarly in3-dimensional space and will be described subsequently. A parallelfive-bar linkage is a system of four rigid bars or links 701, 702, 703,704 pivoted to each other and to a fixed base link 705. The fixed baselink may be referred to as the ground link. It is to be understood thatthe ground link 705 is fixed only in the sense that it provides a fixedframe of reference for the remaining four links. The ground link 705 maybe positioned in space to move the entire five-bar linkage.

Each link includes two pivot axes. The two pivot axes 712, 713 of theground link may be coincident thereby creating a zero length groundlink. The remaining four links all have a substantial distance betweenthe two pivot axes on each link. All of the pivot axes 711, 712, 713,714, 715 are perpendicular to a common surface. The links are coupled atthe pivot axes such that the links can rotate relative to each otherabout the pivot axis at which they are coupled. The rotatable couplingof the links at a pivot axis can take any of a variety of forms thatlimits the motion of the coupled links to rotation about the pivot axis.A number of axes are described for the parallel spherical five-barlinkage. The term “axis” may be used interchangeably to refer to a“joint” or a “pivot” except for the insertion axis.

The ground link 705 provides two inboard axes 712, 713. An inboard link701, 704 is pivotally coupled to each of the inboard axes 713, 712. Eachinboard link 701, 704 has an intermediate axis 714, 711 spaced apartfrom the inboard axis 713, 712. Each inboard link 701, 704 is pivotallycoupled to an outboard link 702, 703 at the intermediate axis 714, 711.Each outboard link 702, 703 has an outboard axis 715 spaced apart fromthe intermediate axis 714, 711. The two outboard links 702, 703 arepivotally coupled at their outboard axes 715. The outboard axis 715 canbe positioned perpendicular to the common surface (in this 2-dimensionalillustrative example) anywhere within its range of motion thus providingan endpoint motion at the outboard axis 715 with two degrees of freedom.If motors are provided to rotate each of the inboard links 701, 704about their inboard axis 713, 712, as suggested by the arrows, theoutboard axis 715 may be positioned anywhere within its range of motionby rotating the two inboard links with the motors. Conversely, movementof the outboard axis 715 within its range of motion translates intorotation of the two inboard links 701, 704 about their inboard axis 713,712.

A linkage that couples rotation of two ground-referenced independentlinks with two dimensional movement of an axis is a parallel linkage.The rotary motion provided by the two motors to the two inboard linksmay be described as parallel rotary motion inputs. It should be notedthat “parallel” is used here to indicate two inputs that are providedindependently of one another and not in the geometric sense to indicatethe direction of the inputs. In a parallel linkage, the two independentparallel inputs act upon the same body at some distal point where linkscoupled to the inputs join to drive the same object or link.

A spherical linkage for the purposes of this description is a3-dimensional version of the 2-dimensional mechanical linkage describedabove. In the 3-dimensional linkage, all pivot axes pass through acommon remote center of spherical rotation. “Pass through” includes axesthat may be slightly displaced (due to slight errors in manufacturing ofthe physical links, for example) from the remote center of sphericalrotation to accommodate the structural limitations of the robotic armwhere the displacement is small enough that the linkage hassubstantially the same kinematics (characteristic motions) as if theaxes actually included the precise, theoretical remote center ofspherical rotation. Note that axes that pass through a remote center ofspherical rotation are also perpendicular to a spherical surfacecentered on the remote center of spherical rotation.

Referring now to the original 2-dimensional linkage of FIG. 7, it willbe appreciated that there are two possible positions for each of theinboard links 701, 704 in a five-bar linkage for most of the possiblepositions of the outboard axis. For example, the inboard link 701 couldalso be positioned as indicated by the dashed line 701′. This positionfor the inboard link is generally considered undesirable because thedistance between the intermediate axes 714′, 711 is reduced and theangle between the outboard links 702′, 703 is reduced. It is normallydesirable to maximize the distance between the intermediate axes toprovide a broad base of support for the outboard axis 715. It is alsonormally desirable to have the outboard links 702′, 703 as close tobeing at right angles to one another as possible to support the outboardaxis 715. While the conventional configuration of a five-bar linkageprovides good structural support for the outboard axis 715, theresulting structure requires a substantial amount of space in which tomove. The alternative configuration as indicated by the dashed 701′,702′ position occupies a smaller area (as projected onto the plane) andis therefore a more compact mechanical configuration.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a parallel spherical five-barlinkage 800. As with the previously discussed planar five-bar linkage,the parallel spherical five-bar linkage 800 is a system of four rigidlinks 801, 802, 803, 804 pivoted to each other and to a fixed base orground link 805. When a parallel five-bar linkage is constructed in aspherical form, all of the pivot axes 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 areperpendicular to a common spherical surface and therefore pass through aremote center of spherical rotation 820 of a sphere. In particular, theoutboard axis 815 will always pass through the remote center ofspherical rotation 820 within its range of motion. Thus, a parallelspherical five-bar linkage 800 provides the desired constrained motionfor a surgical instrument such that the tool shaft of the instrumentpivots about a remote center of spherical rotation when supported andmoved by the outboard axis 815 of the linkage 800. The motors to movethe surgical instrument are placed at the inboard axes 813, 812 of theground link 805. This avoids the need to move one motor with the othermotor as might be required if a serial arm mechanism were used.

As shown schematically in FIG. 9, it has been discovered that a parallelspherical fivebar linkage 900 can be constrained so that theintermediate axes 914, 911 cannot assume the conventional configurationwhere the intermediate axes are at their maximum possible separationand, surprisingly, provide good structural support for the outboard axis915. This results in a more compact configuration that is better suitedfor use as a robotic arm to support a surgical instrument where it isoften necessary to use two or more such arms in close proximity within alimited amount of space as shown by the exemplary system in FIGS. 1-3.

The schematic linkage 900 shown includes a ground link 905, two inboardlinks 901, 904, and two outboard links 902, 903. The first inboard link901 includes a first axis of rotation 913 and a first intermediate axis914 at a first distance from the first axis of rotation. A firstoutboard link 902 is pivotally coupled to the first inboard link 901 atthe first intermediate axis 914. The first outboard link 902 has anoutboard axis 915 at a second distance from the first intermediate axis914.

A mechanical stop 916 may limit the rotation of the first outboard link902 about the first intermediate axis 914 such that a third distancefrom the first axis of rotation 913 to the outboard axis 915, when thefirst outboard link is rotated to the limit of the mechanical stop, issubstantially less than the first distance plus the second distance. Inanother embodiment (not shown), the mechanical stop may be in two parts,each of which limits the rotation of one of the two inboard links.

For links that are simple arcuate segments, such as the links 901-905shown in FIG. 9, the mechanical stop 916 constrains the motion of thelinks such that the angle between the first inboard link 901 and thefirst outboard link 902 is always substantially less than 180 degrees.More generally, the angle between the line segment from the first axisof rotation 913 to the first intermediate axis 914 and the line segmentfrom the first intermediate axis 914 to the outboard axis 915 isconstrained to be substantially less than 180 degrees.

A second inboard link 904 has a second axis of rotation 912 at a fourthdistance from the first axis of rotation 913 and a second intermediateaxis 911 at a fifth distance from the second axis of rotation 912. Asecond outboard link 903 is pivotally coupled to the second inboard link904 at the second intermediate axis 911 and to the first outboard link902 at the outboard axis 915. The outboard axis 915 is at a sixthdistance from the second intermediate axis 911. The inventive sphericalfive-bar linkage is further constrained to have the first and secondintermediate axes 914, 911 on the same side of a plane that includes theoutboard axis 915 and either of the first 913 or second 912 axis ofrotation. This constraint may be achieved by the construction andassembly of the second inboard link 904 and the second outboard link903.

If the combined length of the second inboard link 904 and the secondoutboard link 903 is sufficiently long with consideration for thedistance between the first axis of rotation 913 and the second axis ofrotation 912, the constraint of the motion of the first inboard link 901and the first outboard link 902 will constrain the second inboard link904 and the second outboard link 903 to remain in the inventiveconfiguration. For a given length of the first inboard link 901 and thefirst outboard link 902, a given constraint on the angle between thefirst pair of links 901, 902, and a given distance between the firstaxis of rotation 913 and the second axis of rotation 912, there is amaximum distance from the second axis of rotation 912 to the outboardaxis 915. If the combined lengths of the second inboard link 904 and thesecond outboard link 903 is greater than the maximum distance the secondpair of links 904, 903 will be constrained to remain in theconfiguration in which they were assembled with regard to the relativepositions of the intermediate axes 914, 911.

The parallel spherical five-bar linkage may be limited in its motionsuch that the two intermediate axes 914, 911 are relatively closetogether compared to the maximum separation possible for any given poseof the robotic arm 900. Both the first pair of links 901, 902 and thesecond pair of links 904, 903 will have the same “handedness.” That is,the “elbow” at the intermediate axes 914, 911 for both pairs of linksbends to the same side of the arm. The robotic arm 900 thus formed hasthe characteristic of being either right handed or left handed dependingon how the mechanical stop 916 is arranged. The exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 9 may be considered right handed because the firstintermediate joint and the second intermediate joint are maintained onthe right side to point in a direction to the right. Likewise, a lefthanded robotic arm will have the first intermediate joint and the secondintermediate joint maintained on the left side to point in a directionto the left. A parallel five-bar spherical linkage constructed accordingto the above constraints may be described as being limited to a range ofcompact poses.

As suggested by the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the robotic arm 900 maybe further compacted by making the fourth distance between the first 913and second 912 axis of rotation substantially less than the distancebetween the axes on any of the moving links 901, 902, 903, 904.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of a parallel spherical five barlinkage 1000 for a robotic arm. The parallel spherical five bar linkage1000 for the robotic may be still further compacted by arranging thelinkage so that the primary range of motion for the outboard axis 1015is generally on one side of a plane that includes either the first 1013or second 1012 axis of rotation and the outboard axis 1015.

In some embodiments, such as the embodiment of the parallel sphericalfive bar linkage 1000 shown in FIG. 10, the first 1013 and second 1012axis of rotation are driven by motors connected to a controller 1018 toprovide signals to the first and second motors. The first motor rotatesthe first inboard link 1001 and the second motor rotates the secondinboard link 1004. The controller 1018 may limit the motion of theinboard links 1001, 1004 such that the first and second intermediateaxes 1014, 1011 are on the same side of a plane that includes theoutboard axis 1015 and either of the first 1013 or second 1012 axis ofrotation. The controller 1018 can provide the same constraint on therange of motion of the links 1001-1004 as the mechanical stop 916provides for the links 901-904 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9.

The parallel spherical five bar linkage 1000 may be used to move theoutboard axis to a desired position by controllably rotating the inboardlinks, such as by use of a servo motor or stepper motor. In anotherembodiment, the parallel spherical five bar linkage 1000 may be used tosense a position of the outboard axis by determining the bearings of thetwo inboard axes that result from manipulation of the outboard axis. Forexample, rotary encoders, or other sensors, may be placed at the first1013 and second 1012 axis of rotation of the parallel spherical five barlinkage illustrated by FIG. 10. The controller 1018 may be replaced by acomputer coupled to the two rotary encoders to receive the bearing ofeach of the inboard links 1001, 1004. The computer may then compute theposition of the outboard axis, which may be manipulated by an operatorto provide a position input. It will be appreciated that the outboardaxis is constrained to rotate about the remote center of sphericalrotation 1020 of the spherical linkage. Thus, the parallel sphericalfive bar linkage may also be used in the control console 122 of FIG. 1to receive position input for the outboard axis 1015 from the surgeon120. The position input will have the same constrained motion as theoutboard axis of the robotic arm 100.

FIG. 11 shows a parallel spherical five-bar linkage 1100 that embodiesthe invention that has a structure similar to the robotic arm 100 shownin FIGS. 1-6. The parallel spherical five-bar linkage 1100 is similar instructure and pose to the schematic of the parallel spherical five-barlinkage 1000 of FIG. 10. Five pivot axes 1111-1115, about which the fourmovable links 1101-1104 rotate, all pass through a common remote centerof spherical rotation 1120. The illustrated mechanism includes twomotors 1123, 1122 respectively coupled to the first inboard link 1101and the second inboard link 1104 such that the motors can rotate thelinks about the first 1113 and second 1112 axes of rotation. The twomotors 1123, 1122 are coupled together to form the fifth link 1105,which is the ground link.

The inboard link 1101 is shown as having a generally arcuate form. Theremaining three links 1102, 1103, 1104 are shown as having irregularshapes, which may include arcuate segments, to accommodate placement ofthe pivoted connections 1111, 1114, 1115 such that the links and pivotscan pass one another. It will be appreciated that the links may have anydesired form without affecting the function of the invention. Thelinkage will function as a spherical linkage as long as the axes of thepivoted connections 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114, 1115 all pass substantiallythrough a common remote center of spherical rotation 1120.

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of the parallel spherical five-barlinkage 1100 of FIG. 11 to show the relationships of the links 1101,1102, 1103, 1104, 1105 and pivoted connections 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114,1115 more clearly. FIG. 12 shows the links in an arcuate form toemphasize the spherical nature of the structure. FIG. 13 shows the linksin a schematic form that suggests the form of the links in theembodiment of FIG. 11. It may be seen that the irregular shapes of thelinks shown in FIG. 13 increases the separation between the first pairof links 1101, 1102 and the second pair of links 1104, 1103. It will beappreciated that the form of the links is unimportant as long as theysupport the pivot axes such that they pass substantially through theremote center of spherical rotation 1120.

In the compact configuration of the inventive parallel spherical fivebar linkage, it may be desirable to configure the linkage such that thefirst pair of links 1101, 1102 coupling the first axis of rotation 1113to the outboard axis 1115 can freely pass the second pair of links 1104,1103 coupling the second axis of rotation 1112 to the outboard axis1115. Since the only requirement of the parallel spherical five-barlinkage is that all the pivot axes pass substantially through the commonremote center of spherical rotation 1120, the first pair of links 1101,1102 and the first intermediate pivot 1114 may be configured so that afirst volume swept out by the first pair does not intersect a secondvolume swept out by the second pair of links 1104, 1103 and the secondintermediate pivot 1111. The only connections between the first andsecond volumes are in the vicinity of the outboard axis 1115 and theground link 1105. The form of the links in the embodiment illustrated byFIGS. 11 and 13 are an example of a configuration that permits the firstpair of links 1101, 1102 to pass the second pair of links 1104, 1103.

FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of a parallel spherical five-barlinkage 1400 for a robotic arm. In comparison with the linkage 1000 ofFIG. 10, the parallel spherical five-bar linkage 1400 includes anoutboard link 1402 having an insertion axis 1419 that is spaced apartfrom the outboard axis 1415 by an offset distance. Ideally the insertionaxis 1419 is coincident with the outboard axis 1415. Mechanicalpackaging advantages can be obtained, however, by separating theinsertion axis 1419 from the outboard axis 1415.

Preferably the insertion axis 1419 will be placed on the outboard link1402 further from the intermediate axis 1414 than the outboard axis1415. As long as the insertion axis 1419 is perpendicular to the surfaceof the sphere centered on the remote center of spherical rotation 1420and therefore passes through the remote center of spherical rotation1420, then the insertion axis will have the same kinematiccharacteristics as the pivot axes 1411-1415 of the parallel sphericalfive-bar linkage 1400. That is, the insertion axis 1419 will moverelative to the remote center of spherical rotation 1420. The insertionaxis 1419 may or may not lie in the plane defined by the intermediateaxis 1414 and the outboard axis 1415.

The placement of the insertion axis 1419 outboard from the pivot axes ofthe parallel spherical five-bar linkage may allow the surgical tool tobe supported and manipulated without interfering with the motion of thelinkage 1400. It may also simplify the construction, installation,removal, and sterile boundary construction of cannula 106 and itsassociated mechanical attachment means.

In some embodiments having a spaced apart insertion axis, such as theone illustrated in FIG. 14, the insertion axis 1419, the outboard axis1415, and the intermediate axis 1414 may be coplanar. This arrangementmay simplify the relationship between the positions of the two inboardlinks 1401, 1404 and the position of the outboard axis 1415. Note thatthe insertion axis 1419 can be placed on either of the two outboardlinks 1402, 1403.

The parallel spherical five-bar linkage of the invention may bedescribed using spherical geometry, which is a plane geometry on thesurface of a sphere. While the links of the inventive linkage need notlie of the same spherical surface, or any spherical surface, they can beprojected onto a common spherical surface for the purpose of describingthe linkage. In spherical geometry, distances may be measured as anglesbecause the geometric relationships on the spherical surface areunaffected by changing the radius of the sphere. Angular distanceremains the same regardless of the radius of the sphere.

Navigation on the surface of the Earth is a common example of sphericalgeometry. Latitude and longitude as used in global navigation are afamiliar system for describing locations and directions in a sphericalsystem. The equator defines the points at 0° latitude. The north poledefines 90° latitude and the south pole defines −90° latitude. Longitudeis the angular distance on a circle of constant latitude from anarbitrarily defined line of 0° longitude. Longitude is conventionallyexpressed as being in the range 180° west to 180° east of the 0°longitude line. Bearings are lines of direction from a point expressedas the angle between the bearing and a line of direction to the northpole. The following is a description of an embodiment of the inventionexpressed in terms of a spherical geometry.

Referring to FIG. 14, the first axis of rotation 1413 of the firstinboard link 1401 will be considered as being at 0° latitude and 0°longitude. The second axis of rotation 1412 of the second inboard link1404 is shown as being at the same longitude and at a negative latitude.

The first intermediate axis 1414 may be spaced apart from the first axisof rotation 1413 by 60°. The first outboard axis 1415 may be spacedapart from the first intermediate axis 1414 by 40°. The insertion axis1419 may be spaced apart from the outboard axis 1415 by 30°. The secondaxis of rotation 1412 may be at a fixed position of 0° longitude and 18°negative latitude. It should be remembered that a fixed position meansfixed within the frame of reference of the spherical geometry of thelinkage and that the entire linkage with its frame of reference may befreely positioned in space. The second intermediate axis 1411 may bespaced apart from the second axis of rotation 1412 by 45°. The secondintermediate axis 1411 may be spaced apart from the outboard axis 1415by 55°.

The range of rotation of the first inboard link 1401 about the firstaxis of rotation 1413 may be bearings from 80° through −30°. The roboticarm 100 in FIGS. 1-6 is shown with the first inboard link having abearing of about 15°. The angle between the first inboard link 1401 andthe first outboard link 1402 may be from 110° through 30°. The roboticarm 100 in FIGS. 1-6 is shown with an angle of about 75° between thefirst inboard link and the first outboard link.

These dimension are merely by way of example. The invention may bepracticed with linkages having substantially different dimensions andsubstantially different ranges of motion. The invention is only limitedby the claims. It may be desirable to use different dimensions anddifferent ranges of motion to adapt the invention for needs ofparticular types of surgeries which have particular requirements for therange of motion of the insertion axis and for the space occupied by thedevice through its range of motion.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of a robotic arm 1500 having a geometry thatis similar to the schematic geometry of the parallel spherical five-barlinkage 1400 shown in FIG. 14. The view in FIG. 15 is related to theview in FIG. 14 as looking generally from the left toward the right ofFIG. 14 to see the view of FIG. 15. The ground link 1505 may beconsidered to be the proximal end of the robotic arm 1500. A first motorassembly 1523 may be coupled to the ground link 1505 at a first axis ofrotation 1513 of the first motor. A second motor assembly 1522 may becoupled to the ground link 1505 at a second axis of rotation 1512 of thesecond motor separated from the first axis of rotation by a firstdistance. Note that the axes of rotation 1512, 1513 lie within themotors assemblies 1522, 1523 and that the axes have been drawn as thoughthe motors were transparent so that the relationship of these axes tothe structure of the embodiment can be more clearly seen.

FIG. 16 shows a motor assembly 1522 that may be used in an embodiment ofa robotic arm. The assembly may include a motor 1602 to provide rotarymotion. The motor may be coupled to a shaft 1616 centered on the axis ofrotation 1512 of an inboard link through a gearbox 1604 that may reducethe rotation of the motor 1602. A brake 1606 may be coupled to the motor1602 to stop and hold the motor when it is not moving. An encoder disk1610 may be coupled to the motor 1602. An optical sensor 1618 may sensethe angular motion or position of the encoder disk 1610 and provide asignal on an electrical connector 1614 that may be coupled to acontroller for the robotic arm.

A first inboard link 1501 is pivotally coupled to the ground link 1505at the first axis of rotation 1513. The first inboard link 1501 has afirst intermediate axis 1514 at a second distance distal from the firstaxis of rotation 1513. A first outboard link 1502 is pivotally coupledto the first inboard link 1501 at the first intermediate axis 1514. Thefirst outboard link 1502 has an outboard axis 1515 at a third distancedistal from the first intermediate axis 1514. The first outboard link1502 further includes an insertion axis 1519 spaced apart from theoutboard axis 1515 and the intermediate axis 1514. The insertion axis1519 is at the distal end of the robotic arm 1500. The first outboardlink 1502 may support a cannula 1506 that is centered on the insertionaxis 1519. Note that the insertion axis 1519 passes through the cannula1506 and that the insertion axis has been drawn as though the cannulawas transparent so that the relationship of the insertion axis to theaxes of rotation and the structure of the embodiment can be more clearlyseen.

As shown in FIG. 17, a constraint may limit the rotation of the firstoutboard link 1502 about the first intermediate axis 1514. The maximumextent of the variable distance between the first axis of rotation 1513at which the first motor 1523 is coupled to the ground link 1505 and theoutboard axis 1515 is constrained to be substantially less than a sum ofthe distance from the first axis of rotation 1513 to the firstintermediate axis 1514 and from first intermediate axis 1514 to theoutboard axis 1515. FIG. 17 shows a detail of the first intermediateaxis 1514 that pivotally couples the first inboard link 1501 to thefirst outboard link 1502. A stop pin 1716 may be coupled to the firstoutboard link 1502 such that it moves with the first outboard link. Aslot 1718 may be provided on the first inboard link 1501 within whichthe stop pin 1716 is constrained, thus limiting the rotation of thefirst outboard link 1502 about the first intermediate axis 1514.

A second inboard link 1504 is pivotally coupled to the ground link 1505at the second axis of rotation 1512. The second inboard link 1504 has asecond intermediate axis 1511 at a fifth distance distal from the secondaxis of rotation 1512. A second outboard link 1503 is pivotally coupledto the second inboard link 1504 at the second intermediate axis 1511.The second outboard link 1503 is also pivotally coupled to the firstoutboard link 1502 at the outboard axis 1515, thus closing the parallelspherical five bar linkage. All of the pivotal axes of the parallelspherical five bar linkage pass through the remote center of sphericalrotation 1520. The first 1514 and second 1511 intermediate axes are onthe same side of a plane that includes the outboard axis 1515 and eitherof the first 1513 or second axis of rotation 1512, which are collocatedwith the first 1523 and second 1522 motors. If the first 1514 and second1511 intermediate axes are viewed as elbows, both elbows remain bent inthe same direction throughout the constrained range of motion of therobotic arm 1500.

It is to be understood that the inventive parallel spherical five-barlinkage may be embodied in both powered and unpowered configurations. Inpowered embodiments, devices such as servo motors rotate the inboardlinks. The parallel spherical five-bar linkage translates thoserotations into two dimensional movement of the outboard axis. Inunpowered embodiments, two dimensional movement of the outboard axis istranslated by the parallel spherical five-bar linkage into rotations ofthe inboard links. Devices such as rotary encoders may sense thebearings of the inboard links and that information may be used tocompute the position of the outboard axis. Constraining the rotation ofan intermediate axis as previously described is advantageous inunpowered embodiments because the constraint limits the position of theoutboard axis to one of the two possible positions that correspond tothe bearings of the inboard links.

FIG. 18 shows an encoder assembly that may be used in an unpoweredembodiment of a parallel spherical five bar linkage. A position of theoutboard axis may be sensed by determining bearings of the two inboardaxes of the parallel spherical five bar linkage that result frommanipulation of the outboard axis. An encoder disk 1810 may be coupledto a shaft 1816 centered on the axis of rotation 1812 of each of the twoinboard links of the parallel spherical five bar linkage. The encoderdisk 1810 may be coupled through a gearbox 1804 that may increase therotation of the encoder disk. An optical sensor 1818 may sense theangular motion or position of the encoder disk 1810. The optical sensor1818 may provide a signal on an electrical connector 1814. The signalsfrom the two rotary encoders may be coupled to a computer to determinethe bearing of each of the inboard links.

The computer may determine the position of the outboard axis from thetwo bearings. It should be noted that there will generally be twopossible positions for the outboard axis for a given pair of bearings ofthe inboard links. The computer may be provided with the range of therotation of one of the outboard links about the intermediate axis aslimited by a constraint. The additional input of the range of rotationmay allow the computer to uniquely determine the position of theoutboard axis.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those ordinarily skilled in the art. Instead, the embodimentsof the invention should be construed according to the claims that followbelow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for posing a robotic arm in a minimallyinvasive surgical system, the method comprising: coupling a roboticsurgical tool to a parallel five-bar spherical linkage of the roboticarm; moving the robotic surgical tool about a remote center of sphericalrotation; and posing the five-bar spherical linkage in only a range ofcompact poses in which the parallel five-bar spherical linkage maintaina first pair of links and a second pair of links in the parallelfive-bar spherical linkage to have only a same handedness.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: rotating a first joint in the parallelfive-bar spherical linkage with a first motor; rotating a second jointin the parallel five-bar spherical linkage with a second motor; andcontrolling the first and second motors to pose the five-bar sphericallinkage in only the range of compact poses.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising coupling a mechanical stop to a joint in the parallelfive-bar spherical linkage to limit the parallel five-bar sphericallinkage to only the range of compact poses.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising coupling a mechanical stop on each of two parallelrotary motion inputs to limit the parallel five-bar spherical linkage toonly the range of compact poses.
 5. The method of claim 1: wherein theparallel five-bar spherical linkage includes a ground link having afirst end and an opposing second end, a first pair of links pivotallycoupled at a first intermediate joint and coupled at a first end of thefirst pair of links to the first end of the ground link, and a secondpair of links pivotally coupled at a second intermediate joint, coupledat a first end of the second pair of links to the second end of theground link, and coupled at a second end of the second pair of links toa second end of the first pair of links to form an outboard joint; andwherein the range of compact poses of the parallel five-bar sphericallinkage maintain the first intermediate joint and the secondintermediate joint are on a same side of a plane that includes theoutboard joint, one end of the ground link, and the remote center ofspherical rotation.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcoupling a ground link of the parallel five-bar spherical linkage to atable to support the robotic arm over a patient.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising coupling a ground link of the parallel five-barspherical linkage to a set-up arm to support the robotic arm over apatient.
 8. A method for posing a robotic arm that includes a parallelfive-bar spherical linkage to spherically rotationally move a roboticsurgical tool coupled to the parallel five-bar spherical linkage about aremote center of spherical rotation in a minimally invasive surgicalsystem, the method comprising: pivotally coupling a first pair of linksin the five-bar spherical linkage at a first intermediate joint;coupling a first end of the first pair of links to a first end of aground link in the five-bar spherical linkage; pivotally coupling asecond pair of links in the five-bar spherical linkage at a secondintermediate joint; coupling a first end of the second pair of links toa second end of the ground link; pivotally coupling a second end of thefirst pair of links to a second end of the second pair of links to forman outboard joint; and posing the five-bar spherical linkage with thefirst intermediate joint on a predetermined side of a first plane thatincludes the remote center, the outboard joint, and the first end of theground link, and with the second intermediate joint on the predeterminedside of a second plane that includes the remote center, the outboardjoint, and the second end of the ground link.
 9. The method of claim 8,further comprising: rotating the first end of the first pair of linkssuch that the first intermediate joint is only on the predetermined sideof the first plane; and rotating the first end of the second pair oflinks such that the second intermediate joint is only on thepredetermined side of the second plane.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising: fixing a first motor to the first end of the groundlink; coupling the first motor to the first end of the first pair oflinks; rotating the first end of the first pair of links with the firstmotor such that the first intermediate joint is only on thepredetermined side of the first plane; fixing a second motor to thesecond end of the ground link; coupling the second motor to the firstend of the second pair of links; and rotating the first end of thesecond pair of links with the second motor such that the secondintermediate joint is only on the predetermined side of the secondplane.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising coupling the groundlink to a table to support the robotic arm over a patient.
 12. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising coupling the ground link to atable with a set-up arm to support the robotic arm over a patient.